The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Haruna Isah of the All Progressive Congress as winner of the Saturday’s bye-election held to fill the vacant seat of Lokoja/Kogi federal constituency in the House of Representatives.

Returning Officer for the election, Prof Rotimi Ajayi of the Department of Political Science, Federal University Lokoja, who declared the result on Sunday in Lokoja, said Isah polled a total of 26,860 votes to defeat his closest rival, Engr. Bashir Abubakar Gegu of the PDP who polled 14,845 votes.

He said the candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mohammed Mabo Kassim polled 2,984 while Umar Ahmed Imam of the SDP polled 2,916 votes.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and African Democratic Congress (ADC) have called on INEC to cancel the Saturday’s Lokoja/Kogi bye-election, describing the exercise as a rape of democracy following the reported cases of violence, intimidation, vote buying and other anomalies that characterised the exercise.

The three political parties made the call yesterday in a joint press statement issued and signed by Mr Bode Ogunmola for PDP, Ochedi Udale Shaibu for SDP and Comrade Aderemi Ismail for ADC.

“Today (yesterday) is indeed a black day in the state as we witnessed a broad day rape on democracy, human rights violation and neglect of rule of law through a wanton destruction of electoral materials, snatching of ballot boxes, physical assaults on innocent electorate as well as destruction of private and public properties of perceived enemies of the APC-led government in the state under the watchful eyes of the security agencies especially the Nigerian Police who are obvious conspirators in this unholy alliances.

“In line with this obvious facts and to restore people’s confidence in our democracy, we therefore call for total cancellation of the entire exercise and also bring to book all perpetrators of these criminal acts”, the statement said.